Madrid in August is that insane

[walkmag]

Hi because of high temperatures is it completely insane to walk camino Madrid starting mid August ?
My friend who I would like to walk with only has that window open.

I have read several times that walking in the August is not recommended
. What do others think ? We both have a few pilgrimages under our belt

 

[Kanga]

@Rebekah Scott recently tried it and found it too hot. Why not one of the coastal routes? The temperature is likely to be more moderate.

 

[Phillypilgrim]

Hi, I walked beginning September 1st. It was SO hot and I was unprepared for it. I had a very difficult first two days, until I began carrying twice as much water and bought an umbrella for sun shade. I honestly can't imagine walking it in August.

 

[walkmag]

Thnx Kanga and Philly not lookn good

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, walkmag, If you want an untraveled Camino where the temperatures will be more reasonable, I'd suggest either the Invierno (starts in Ponferrada) or the Camino Olvidado (starts in Bilbao). Both are in the north, have a fair amount of mountains and should't be so oppressively hot as Madrid area is likely to be. Vadiniense is also a possibility. All three are well marked and have no other pilgrims!

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[KinkyOne]

Hi because of high temperatures is it completely insane to walk camino Madrid starting mid August ?
My friend who I would like to walk with only has that window open.

I have read several times that walking in the August is not recommended
. What do others think ? We both have a few pilgrimages under our belt

Hola, walkmag!

I walked it in June this year. It was hot (around 30C) but not as hot as I expected. I guess it depends on personal perception of heat. After my CF in 2011 when being exposed to icy cold and steady strong north wind on the meseta for 11 days, that changed for me I can say that hot is now mostly desired for me. Also I sweat a lot and in cold weather I get shivers whereas in warm/hot weather my clothes dry in a matter of minutes. On Camino de Madrid you can't find much natural shade apart from pinarios (pine forests) which are approximately on one third of the whole route, and you can also expect severe afternoon storms or at least heavy downpours in August. Well, that shouldn't be a surprise for a pilgrim, eh? I have to add that Madrid is very very beautiful Camino with nice people and infrastructure.
Whichever you decide - enjoy it

Ultreia

 

[Felipe]

Some years ago we were in Sevilla, in August, for a convention. One of the participants, a middle age woman, saw us sitting in a bar, identified us by our badges, and crossed the street under a full sun to ask where the meeting was held. She suddenly started to stutter, turned pale and collapsed over the table and coffee cups. She recovered rather quickly, and had no consequences, but the bartender told us that this happened sometimes to foreigners not used to Spanish "verano" and that try to walk too much right after a long flight, coming from a different time zone.

This report states that hospitals in Castilla and Leon gave attention last summer to 169 people with heat related problems. In some cases there were medical preconditions (especially cardiovascular problems). Half of the patients were exposed to sun, and a quarter were doing sport activities. It is interesting to note that heat strokes seem to affect men more frequently (60%). Men around 45 yrs old and women around 38 were more prone to resent the heat. There is probably some statistical bias here, but the report gives an idea.

So...I am not an expert on the issue, but I would personally avoid Meseta in summer unless I am used to heat; give myself a couple of days of rest after a long travel; prefer routes with forests, use a hat (as the one in my forum avatar!), be sure to stay hydrated and stop immediately if I feel somewhat dizzy. And remember, there is a rationale behind the famed Spanish "siesta".

Buen camino!

 

[Kanga]

I walked the meseta in July in high temperatures. Although it was hot, hot, hot, we were OK because we only walked in the morning (starting at daybreak) when there was always a breeze. The breeze died in the afternoons and I've been told it is absent in August.

 

[KinkyOne]

As @Kanga wrote it's much hotter in the afternoon, but I've enjoyed the late afternoon light on the Meseta very much and best of my photos were taken at that time. Sometimes I even finished walking at 7 or 8 PM because of that special atmosphere But as said before it depends on perception of heat.
I would also confirm @Felipe 's advice to use hat or umbrella and drink a lot of water plus you might add some additives in form of magnesium, calcium, hydrolites etc. if walking in "extreme" heat. And that goes not only for the meseta (CF) or Tierra de Campos when on Camino de Madrid
I didn't know about dying breeze in the afternoon on the Meseta in August though. Interesting...

 

[grayland]

I walked the VdlP from Sevilla last heat starting mid August.
I has a week of 50-55 degree heat..then high 40's until Salamanca.
No one else walking (wonder why?) and I was only one in the hot albergues.
People were surprised to see me.
The heat was very difficult....but I did keep going somehow.

I did it knowing how hard it would be but it was much more difficult than I anticipated.
Sometimes it is not a great idea to do something that others advise is too hard...but ....
I can scratch August on the VdlP off my bucket list.

I would suggest you think it over very carefully before starting out. It could mean
aborting your Camino if you cannot continue.
Bear in mind that many, if not most, people do not continue on the VdlP/Madrid routes in August.

 

[walkmag]

Sometimes it is not a great idea to do something that others advise is too hard...but ....
I can scratch August on the VdlP off my bucket list.

Thankyou everybody there is no way around the fact the Madrid Camino in August is a bad idea .

Regards Maggie

 

[KinkyOne]

Sometimes it is not a great idea to do something that others advise is too hard...but ....
I can scratch August on the VdlP off my bucket list.

Thankyou everybody there is no way around the fact the Madrid Camino in August is a bad idea .

Regards Maggie

Well, maybe it's not a bad idea, it's more a question if you can handle it in the August heat
But there are so many other Caminos you can do during summer. I think peregrina2000 mentioned some of them.
Wish you lots of fun planning your next one!

Ultreia!

 

[vgen5122]

Thnx Kanga and Philly not lookn good

I walked the Camino starting in mid August of 2013. It's not so much when you walk the Camino as it is what time you walk. We walked from 7am-2pm in order to beat the heat. Some people started at 6 am and some even earlier than that. Buen Camino....

 

[Phillypilgrim]

I think the OP has moved on from this topic, but I just wanted to add:
My first day from Madrid to Tres Cantos (23 K/14.2 Miles) it was 35.6 degrees C/96 F. I had some food but only 1 Liter of water (I know, I know). I ran out of water and had no cell phone reception, and I became very nauseous and had to drag myself under a bush (no trees) to pull myself together to continue.
No one was on the trail AT ALL and frankly it shook me up a lot. So please, don't be a dummy like me, and prepare, prepare, prepare. This trail is not the CF. After that first day I got my act together and I recommend the C de M as a wonderful pilgrimage.

 

[walkmag]

Hi, walkmag, If you want an untraveled Camino where the temperatures will be more reasonable, I'd suggest either the Invierno (starts in Ponferrada) or the Camino Olvidado (starts in Bilbao). Both are in the north, have a fair amount of mountains and should't be so oppressively hot as Madrid area is likely to be. Vadiniense is also a possibility. All three are well marked and have no other pilgrims!

Buen camino, Laurie

Thankyou Olvidadi might be an option option

 

[Rebekah Scott]

As Laurie said above, I lasted only four days in early August on the Madrid route. Once the sun hit noon, I could feel my brain melting... and usually there was nowhere to stop for another 6 or 8 km.
I live on the meseta, I am accustomed to the heat and altitude, I was prepared as I could be. It was simply too damn hot for anyone to be out in that.

I would recommend the Invierno if you want a nice August walk.